ISO 45003: Psychological health and safety at work – Occupational health and safety management

In the summer of 2021, a new ISO health and safety standard arrived: ISO 45003, putting the management of psychological health and safety and psychosocial risk in the spotlight. A welcomed addition to the ISO safety standards in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many new challenges and changes it brought.

Its main purpose is to help organizations using an occupational health and safety management system based on ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety. But it can also be used as stand-alone guidance benefitting the workers’ health and safety in organizations that have yet to implement an occupational health and management system.

Those responsible for the workers’ health and safety would do well to get up to speed with ISO 45003 to be able to provide effective leadership according to the latest safety standards.

What is ISO 45003?

ISO 45003 is the first global standard for managing psychosocial risks in the workplace within an occupational health and safety management system. It enables organizations to reduce and prevent work-related injuries and ill health for workers and interested parties, and promote a culture of well-being at work.

ISO 45003 includes:

• Guidelines and information on how to identify psychological hazards in the workplace, including those that can arise working from home.
• Examples of actions and instructions on how to manage potential hazards and improve employee well-being.

Why ISO 45003 is good for your organization

In recent years, mental health conditions are increasing worldwide according to WHO statistics. Supporting mental health in the workplace has never been more important.

ISO 45003 enables organizations to build a positive work environment and provides a framework to manage workers’ psychological health and safety. In the end, the psychological health and well-being of workers are foundational for organizational resilience, sustainability, and performance. To achieve long-term success, an organization needs to identify and address the root causes of psychological ill-health and understand that more often than not, people’s work and home life are not inseparable.

Other benefits of ISO 45003 include:

• Better recruitment, retention, and diversity
• More engaged workers
• Increased innovation
• Legal compliance
• Reduced absence due to stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, etc.

How the pandemic strengthened the need for ISO 45003

As previously above, mental health issues have steadily risen over the last couple of years, spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic. While psychological health and well-being have always been a major issue within the workplace, with the stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression costing economies billions and resulting in insurmountable cases of long-term sickness absence, the pandemic has moved the agenda even further.

Mental health is often an area of occupational health and management system management where many organizations feel, or aren’t, adequately equipped to deal with. Too often, this is dealt with using superficial actions that amount to nothing, a reactive approach to try and fix something when it’s already too late, or ignoring it altogether.

Fortunately, due to the pandemic, there’s been a surge in activities towards understanding mental health issues better and taking actions towards improving psychological health in the workplace. The purpose of ISO safety standards such as ISO 45003 is to promote these incentives and support companies in improving their workers’ health and safety even further.

ISO 45003 supports the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals

By implementing ISO 45003, organizations committed to sustainability will align themselves and their corporate strategies to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. The ISO health and safety standard ISO 45003 contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals: 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 16, and demonstrates your organization’s commitment to ensuring your workers’ health and safety, decent work conditions, and promoting a culture of well-being.

If you’re seeking to enhance your Environmental, Social, and Governance profile, implementing ISO 45003 will send a strong message to shareholders, stakeholders, and your employees that you truly care for your people.

Promote a culture of well-being with Remente

The Remente platform gives you insight into the current state of your organization to understand the needs and expectations of workers and other relevant parties, and what potential psychological and psychosocial health risks are present within your company. It acts as a useful tool to align your company according to ISO 45003, helping you take measures to manage and prevent both work-related injury and ill health to workers, and generally promote a culture of well-being.

The Remente platform lets its users assess and reflect on what is affecting their wellbeing and mind, highlighting areas of life that need attention, and provides coaching, goal setting, habit building, and resources to empower users and facilitate positive behavioral change.

Utilize our psychology-based tools to promote and achieve healthier habits in the workplace. Book a demo of Remente today.